Paper Quilled Sheep

Tonight's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Sometimes Things Just Flow!

Do you ever have those moments where things just flow?  Tonight was one of those nights.  I decided to stop by SCS before heading to bed and saw the great featured stamper challenge.  I quickly went to Ardod's gallery and saw this card http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1427133?&cat=500&ppuser=198978 and I knew what I had to do!

The challenge requires you to change at least 2 things about the card.  I had a little sheep that I had quilled ages ago and I knew this would be the perfect card!  I changed the color scheme, added a ribbon, a different quilled subject, and a greeting.  Thanks for the inspiration!  I hope you like it!  Sometimes things just flow! :)

A Few Clean And Simple (CAS) Cards

I was playing around in the craft room tonight and decided to make a few clean and simple (CAS) cards.  These cards are so simple to make and I love using the Pocket Silhouettes stamp set.  Now if I can just get my craft room Clean and Simple!  That would be amazing!!!! :)

Here is another one...

and one more....

Bella's Bloom - Inspiration Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  If you are not going to be better tomorrow than you were today, then what need have you for tomorrow?

Today's lesson  is a challenge that is almost 200 hundred years old.  About 200 years ago, Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav offered this challenge to his followers.  It is a challenge that is important for us to make of ourselves everyday.  How can you make today even better than yesterday?  How can you demonstrate that you have a need for another tomorrow so that you can make the world an even better place?  I challenge you! :)

Today's card took patience :)  The inspiration challenge on SCS was to find inspiration in the Etsy shop of Design Spirit Studio.  I was inspired by this piece of jewelry http://ny-image1.etsy.com//il_fullxfull.63565841.jpg and immediately knew that Crystal Effects were in order :)  It's waiting for the crystal effects to dry that can take patience :)  I stamped the image a few times in Timber Brown Staz-on - I have found that if I used crystal effects over classic ink, it sometimes runs a bit.  It's hard to see, but there are 2 score lines toward the bottom of the card.  Hope you like it!

Punch Horse Card

My niece LOVES horses, so for her birthday I made this punch horse card :)  I followed the punch horse tutorial provided by Angie Juda (thanks Angie!) and improvised a bit since I didn't have the punches that she used to make the hair and ears.  I used the Boho Blossoms punch instead and it worked out just fine.  I figured I would use the crimper to make a horse stall door - my hope is that this horse looks like he's looking out of his stall.  The Happy Everything stamp set is making me happy these days!  It seems to have a great greeting for so many occasions!!!!  Hope you like it!!!!!

Happy New Beginnings!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Every Minute Of Every Day You Can Decide To Start Anew!

Happy New Year!!!!  2010 is here and, I imagine, for a lot of us there is pressure - pressure to fulfill whatever New Year's resolutions we have made.  Pressure to make this year better than ever.  It's amazing the power we give to the first day of the year, when, in reality, every day is the start of a new day - every day can be the start of our year - any moment of any day can be our new beginning.  What if we gave each moment of our life the power it deserves?  What if we recognized that it's never too late or too soon to begin again.

I was like the Tasmanian Devil in my craft room, trying to create this card for the challenge on SCS today!  Quite the challenge to whip up a card in 15 mins.  I have to confess that my 15 minutes did not include drying time for the stickles - I took a photo of the card while it was still wet :)  I paper pieced the cupcake by using half of a scallop circle from the scallop circle punch and then cutting a square and using my scissors to taper it a bit.  I then ran the tapered square through the crimper.  Hope you like it!!!!

Season of Friendship - Raised Border

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  All You Have Is All You Need

Today's lesson is one that comes out of the craft room quite a bit :)  Yesterday we spent time thinking about renovation work we could do on our home.  We talked about different ideas and different costs and I came to the realization that renovating wouldn't "fix" things.  We really have all that we need - we just need to clean and organize.  So we began pulling things out of the kitchen cabinets and filling boxes of items that will be donated.  We already feel better!  One day we may do some renovation, but for now we are going to take better care of the space we have - after all, we have all that we need :)

Today's card was for the Ways To Use It challenge on SCS - the challenge was to make a card inspired by the concept of time.  The card isn't quite what I pictured, but I figured it's part of my process and will hopefully lead to other cards that build on the ideas I used here :)  I'm going with a PMA (positive mental attitude) today! :)  I added a bunch of stitch marks in Old Olive and white gel pen.  The theme of time made me think about the seasons.

Here's how I made the raised border.  First, I cut a square of thin chipboard to the size of the raised border I wanted.  Then I temporarily adhered the square to the back side of the cover of the card.

Then I rubbed the front of the card with was paper to make my embossing stylus slide more smoothly.

I followed the edge of the square (which is underneath the front of the card) with my embossing stylus.

Finally I removed the chipboard from the back side of the front of the card and drew on my faux white stitching.  Hope you like this quick and easy technique for embossing!

Define Your Life - Always

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  You Can Do It!!!!

So the door on one of the kitchen cupboards has been hanging precariously for months.  Yes, months!  I kept hoping that a magic fairy (or Michael) would fix it in the middle of the night and I would wake up one morning and it would be fixed!  Well, today the magic fairy came...she just happened to be me :)  I guess Michael had taken a look at it awhile ago and was stumped by the hinge and how it worked, so he was waiting for some inspiration.  Rather than wait any longer, I got out the screwdrivers - 3 of them, mind you - and went to work.  I am very happy to report that I did have to go into the craft room for a bit of clay so that I could hold the screw onto the end of the screwdriver while trying to screw it into place! :)  Michael even tested out my handiwork and was quite impressed with the result!  Yeah!!!!!  It's amazing how happy a properly working cupboard door can make you :)  So the next time you are waiting around for the magic fairy, thinking you can't do something on your own, think again!  YOU can do it!!!! :)

This card was for today's sketch challenge and SCS and it came together quickly - although I must admit, it came together backwards :)  I was originally thinking about using 2 different patters of paper and then decided I liked it best with this one pattern...and realized that I cut my paper diagonally the wrong way - at least according to the sketch challenge - oops!  So, I hope you will forgive me - you can imagine the diagonal line going the other way...after all, I was able to fix the kitchen cupboard today and that's gotta give me some points to use against other goofs :)  I think this will make a very sweet Valentine's Day card.  Hope you like it!

Greetings Earthling, Clean and Simple

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  You Are How You Act, Not Just How You Believe

I began reading the book "Have A Little Faith" by Mitch Albom yesterday.  I'm loving it so far!  Today's lesson is a quote from the book (p. 44) and it really struck me as something to always keep in mind.  It's easy to have faith and to believe.  It also seems that it can be challenging to continue to make sure that our actions line up with our faith and our beliefs.  In the coming year I hope that I will continue to make progress in assuring that my actions are in line with my faith and my beliefs - I wish the same for you :)

Today's card came together quickly for the color challenge on SCS - the challenge was to combine neutrals of your choice with dusty durango, barely banana and basic gray.  Something about this color combo made me think "retro" and "robots!"  It's hard to tell, but I popped the barely banana layer up on the basic gray.  Hope you like it :)

Van Gogh Technique

Wow!!!!  I haven't had this much fun coloring since I was a kid with one of my Altair Designs coloring books!  (do you remember those???)  I've named this card "Van Goghing, Goghing, Gone" since I got so involved in all of this coloring I was gone! :)  This card was made for the New Technique challenge on SCS today.  The challenge was to use the Van Gogh technique (start by coloring your image in as usual and then get crazy with the markers by making faux brush strokes in darker colors).  What fun!  I stamped the flowers from Fifth Avenue Floral and then did some drawing and paper piecing for the vase and the leaves.  I added some sponged whisper white at the bottom as a table.  Hope you like it!

Wonderful Woodcuts - Birthday Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  It's OK To Be Lost Between What We Want And What We Need

I admit it - I've developed an addiction to HGTV!  Not the crafting shows, but all of the house shows...Property Virgins, House Hunters, Bang For The Buck, House Hunters...yes, all of them!  At first I found it incredibly fun and entertaining...and now I have to admit that although I am still addicted, my addiction is sprinkled with a bit of sadness.  I continue to be amazed by how much space 2 people need...or should I say "want."  Here in the States we seem to live by the mantra that "bigger is better."  We want bigger rooms, more space, more stuff, more, more, more.  I'm guilty too (something I am all to keenly aware of as I've been working through cleaning out all the "stuff" in the craft room!).  So now I am a bit lost - between what I want and what I really need.  Do we really "need" bigger bathrooms, bigger bedrooms, media rooms, wine cellars, spa tubs and coffered ceilings?  And if we don't "need" them, is it okay to want them?  Where is the line when our wants are just too excessive and we need to stop?  How do we encourage ourselves to remember that all that we have is really all that we need - or at least prevent ourselves from continuing to have the "more" mentality?  Yes, I'm lost - somewhere between want and need - hopefully I'll find my way home :)

This is a simple card that I put together for Michael's dad - it's his birthday this week!  The image is from a retired SU! set, Wonderful Woodcuts.  I stamped the image two times with Jet Black Staz-On onto watercolor paper and then used my Aqua Painters and ink to color in the main image.  I cut out the main image and popped it up onto the second image for some dimension.  I also used a bit of Crystal Effects to make the water glossy.  Hope you like it!

Canada Journal/Scrapbook (Inside)

...just wanted to show you the inside cover of the Canada scrapbook/journal I made for my friend (see post below).  I made a stencil of a maple leaf from the Canadian flag and sponged whisper white ink to create the leaves.  Added a few punched snowflakes and, since she's headed to Ottawa, I had to include that too :)  This is a pocket page - there are a total of 6 pockets in the journal.  The rest of the journal is blank for her to fill in with her thoughts, photos and musings :)

Canada Journal/Scrapbook

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Enjoy Good Food and Good Fun With Friends!

We had a group of friends over for dinner tonight.  It's become a tradition - our Sunday night dinners.  We cook and people come and relax and enjoy a home-cooked meal.  Everyone brings something along - a bottle of wine, some chips & dip, a bit of fudge.  I always know there will be a lot of laughter :)  One of our Sunday night friends is headed to Canada to be with her boyfriend for a few months - we're going to miss her.  He is one lucky guy (and he better not forget it!) :)  This is a small gift I made for her to take on her journey - a place she can capture her thoughts and store some photos/memories.  There are pages and some pockets inside.  I am still in love with my bind-it-all!  I love the ability to create books like this that can survive a trip without falling apart at the binding!  Hope you like it!